Keep feeling fascination….
In 2025, I began actively nurturing a fascination that has probably been present with me for a while but not activated fully.
A fascination for ‘ordinary cities’.
2025 was the context for the activation.
Moving to a city that I consider a combination of ‘ordinary’ and ‘underdog’ was the context for the activation.
I’ve lived in cities before that, upon reflection, I would call ‘ordinary’.
However, at the time, I don’t believe I reflected that intensively on their ‘ordinariness’ or about what it was about that ‘ordinariness’ that was appealing to me.
Well, I think about this regularly now, as both an issue of lived experience and a burgeoning research interest, having moved this year to what I would call an ‘ordinary city’.
But the city is also one of the most stigmatized cities in Poland, if not in fact the most stigmatized one.
In fact, it was that ‘stigma’ that interested me as well. Perhaps I have a thing for ‘underdog’ cities…
I also consider that, in fact, such a ‘stigmatized’ city can’t even be considered so ‘ordinary’, at least not in identity, city image, and perception, due to the weight of such polarizing sentiments it inspires. It could also be that the perception of its ordinariness fuels the stigma….
More than a few things can be true at once.
I went to a holiday party at my home institute in Warsaw earlier this month and brought up the topic of Radom and perceptions of the city. I was fascinated to see thoughts and dialogue sparking in every direction among diverse geographers on the topic, and of course, had my research journal to take notes.
On a side mobility note, my train ticket to Warsaw mid-morning was 15 zł, and at peak rush hour returning was 34 zł. The ride was 1 hour.
In addition to being a PhD student, I currently work at a bilingual primary school where I have been asking fellow colleagues as well as the older students one of my developing research-related exploration questions.
Last week I covered for a teacher for class 4. I asked the students for their 3 words to describe Radom.
For me it was fascinating to see two kids on opposite sides of the room write down ‘normal’.
This absolutely connects to my observation of ‘ordinary urbanism’ embedded in the city, and also an appreciation for such.
I don’t think we talk about – or value – ‘ordinary cities’ enough.
